“With diesel water content 40 times over the national limit, do you dare refuel with this kind of diesel?” Recently, Vice Director Wang Xunkun of the Heilongjiang Provincial Law Institute, Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law Institute denounced a Harbin Shangzhi Weihe Petrochina gas station on Weibo, claiming that its gas quality is severely substandard. The shocking over-the-limit number caused heated debate. A netizen said: “Domestic gas stations adding water in gas is a common phenomenon. It’s just a question of how much or how little. Car owners are no longer surprised.”

Phenomenon

Breaking down twice not long after refueling

Harbin Shangzi city resident Gao Zhanjun has a trailer truck and refueled with 1,900 yuan [314.2 USD] worth of 0# diesel [grades range from 10# to -50#] last October at the Weihe PetroChina gas station. Who knew that after driving 130 kilometers his truck would break down. In accordance with mechanics at Harbin, he purchased and replaced 6 fuel injectors, but the truck broke down yet again 100 kilometers later. Gao Zhanjun once again bought and replaced 6 fuel injectors, spending 25,800 yuan in total [on repairs], but with the truck continuing to have constant problems, mechanics began suspecting fuel quality problems.

“The mechanics released about 4-5 kilograms of water from the fuel-water separator.” Gao Zhanjun said among the drivers he knows, 5 have experienced the same situation after refueling diesel at this gas station.

Random Testing

0# diesel suddenly disappears

Gao Zhanjun turned to the Shangzi Trade and Industry Bureau to safeguard his legal rights. When Shangzi Trade and Industry Bureau staff visited the Weihe town PetroChina petrol station, they discovered that the 0# diesel Gao Zhanjun had previously refueled with had suddenly disappeared. Because they were unable to sample [the 0# diesel], the Trade and Industry Bureau could only take a sample of the -20# grade diesel.

Last year on December 10, the Heilongjiang Provincial Quality Supervision Testing Institute test results were released, and found that the -20# grade diesel sample sent by the Shangzhi city Trade and Industry Bureau had 0.2 percent water content, exceeding the maximum allowable 0.005 percent national standard, 40 times over limit.

Response

Will have negative impact, please don’t report

A leader of the Petrochina Shangzhi Sales branch previously told this reporter, “this incident has a negative impact on the company, so I hope you people won’t report on it.” On 2014 January 8, the Shangzhi Trade and Industry Bureau reported this case to the Harbin Industry and Commerce Bureau. On January 16, Shangzhi Trade and Industry Bureau Deputy Director Gao Zhiwei said to this reporter: “Because the case is relatively large and very sensitive, we have already requested the Harbin Trade and Industry Bureau make administrative punishments. At present, it is still in discussion, and once there is a conclusion, we will immediately announce them.” According to CCTV report.

Petrochina has finally turned water into oil, overcoming the world’s [energy] crisis.

bighuamao [网易浙江省宁波市网友]:

Selling water as fuel to our countrymen, making money and sharing it with Wall Street, state-owned enterprises and government enterprises sure are great.

大江南北遍地游 [网易广西柳州市柳北区手机网友]：

I think PetroChina is quite considerate. Truck drivers drive all over the place, and if they should unfortunately run out of water when they’re driving in the desert, they can drink the diesel to save their lives! Petrochina is truly thinking far-ahead for truck drivers!

红色鸡国 [网易加拿大网友]：

Gasoline prices in China are far more expensive than in the United States! Just calculate and you’ll know just how much more expensive it is!
Because expressways [highways/freeways] in the United States do not collect tolls, we should use Hainan for comparison! That’s because in China, only Hainan expressways don’t collect tolls! The expenses are included in the gasoline prices!
Today, in Hainan, the price of #93 [octane] gas is 8.83 RMB a liter!
Today, throughout the United States, the gas price is 3.295 USD a gallon, or 0.87 USD a liter, which is 5.26 yuan RMB a liter!
So the true price of petrol in China is 67% more expensive than that in America! What more, China’s gas contains over 5 times more sulfur than in the United States! It’s 15 times more than in Japan! Nothing less than being both toxic and expensive! What a difference [“the difference between the heaven and earth”]!
In 2012, in America, the average wage was about 24 USD an hour, which is 50,000 USD a year before tax!
In China, the 2012 average wage was 28,000 for urban residents in private enterprises, 46,000 for urban residents in non-private enterprises. 60% of people work in private enterprises!
So the average urban wage was 35,200 RMB!
So the average wage in America can buy 57,441 liters of gas!
China’s national average wage can buy 3,986 liters of gas! The gap is 14.4 times!
Of course, this kind of comparison is not fair to the United States! Because the income of rural residents is higher than those in the cities! But aside from the 260 million migrant workers who have left the countryside to work in cities, China still has 50% of its people as farmers/peasants in the countryside!
The per capital income of Chinese peasants is only one third of those in the cities so the purchasing power gap is 43.2 times!
On average, when it comes to gasoline purchasing power including highway fees [money, etc. paid to bandits for passage], the gap between China and the United States is 28.8 times! Let’s all thank the country/government!
Now Sinopec is adding water to its already exorbitant gas! Ha ha ha ha ha! Turning water into gas is high-end trickery!

一犟到底 [网易黑龙江省网友]： (responding to above)

Don’t compare everything with the United States. China has 1.4 billion people, so just be happy that you can get enough to eat, because [for China] to attain the [level] of the United States, the Earth would go bankrupt.

多彩极光 [网易福建省手机网友]：

There is probably no good reason for this. According to physics, water is heavier than diesel, so after injecting water, the water and diesel will automatically separate, with the water sinking and the diesel floating on the water (gas stealing in oil depot is all done like this). Unless some chemical method is used making the water soluble in diesel.

xesrac [网易澳大利亚网友]：

This is a widespread problem. Hubei rural gas stations also add water in their gas and ether in their compressed gas canisters!

With such science and technology, [China has] already caught up with and surpassed Britain and the United States by 500 years. It may well be asked, what country has such great science and technology!? Our China does! I am a Chinese, and I am proud! We all have the Chinese dream!

东方哄粪匪生 [网易加拿大网友]：

Using gas diluted with water, drinking poisonous milk, breathing polluted air, eating waxed rice, the rabble express that life is very beautiful and happy, and that our Communist Party is good and great.